Erik VanDrunen of RIM public relations had this to say about micro-USB: “A number of industry associations have endorsed micro-USB as a preferred charging standard, including the CTIA (in April 2009). RIM is committed to micro-USB as an industry standard because it’s smaller than mini-USB and supports the trend to thinner smartphones, without sacrificing features or capabilities.

EnGadgetMobile’s Thomas Ricketer on the current state of mobile chargers in Europe: “phone chargers, at the moment some 30 different types of chargers are used on handsets throughout Europe. Today, the European Commission received industry backing of its phone charger standard that relies on a micro-USB socket. The standard is now backed by all the majors (representing 90% of the European mobile market) including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Apple, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments with compatible devices starting to appear in Europe next year. Or course, the micro-USB charger standard already has the blessings of CTIA, OMTP, and GSM Association, which implies a broader adoption beyond Europe, someday. One charger for any mobile phone… where’s the catch?”

It seems that like mini-USB before it, RIM working to make sure that the BlackBerry data transfer and changing cable remain ubiquitous.

I’m pretty sure Apple is NOT on board for this. All of the 3rd party accessories built around the iPod would be junked. I’d rather see RIM add the iPod dock to the BlackBerry to tak advantage of iPod accessories.

moog

I’m pretty sure Apple is NOT on board for this. All of the 3rd party accessories built around the iPod would be junked. I’d rather see RIM add the iPod dock to the BlackBerry to tak advantage of iPod accessories.